Saturday, March 1, 2025

My creative week spent sewing on my round robin quilt


I spent my creative time this week in my wee studio, adding to my Stay at home Round Robin quilt

the prompt was Kite blocks... I started with a search online to see them, and for my whimsical house piece decided to make them look like kites, and used blue sky scraps (Thanks, RSC!) plus scrap triangles from feedsack fabrics

I did them improvisationally. cut a rectangle from a blue scrap, then cut that in half on an angle both directions. Now to add a triangle that meets on the tips after sewing
did that on all four corners, then trimmed the excess kite fabric to match the original blue shapes. 
Sewed them together and this happened
patch more sky scraps (yikes, running out of this one!) to make them into same size, sew blocks to each other. Need another kite to stretch across the top...
they will get tails after the whole top is together

It was fun making these, I love little scraps and admit I keep tiny ones, and love how they turn into shapes or fill in gaps

Soooo...

 I was never satisfied with my quarter log cabins and thought, will they look better if made with all the same size logs? I chose scraps I could cut down to 1.5" and made another set
they didn't look better to me, so I decided they would go along the sides of the quilt top, and sewed those to each other, miraculously they came out the same length! 

Now I wasn't satisfied with the lattice slice blocks idea either, the ME fabric wasn't bold enough...
lattice blocks are on the bottom, too pale

then I thought... I love to insert little strips when making landscapes why not take a 3.5" strip of one of the feedsack repro fabrics, and insert tiny darker green "grass" pieces? 
It's done improvisationally as I love what comes from taking that leap into the unknown! 

you overlap the fabrics both right side up,  
 where you want the insert, cut a curve, 
then sew the curves together gently pulling the edges together as you go. Spritz with water and press


See the wide green insert on the left? it's too big so I just appliqued  the background scrap onto the to the middle of it and voila your eye tells you it's two grass sprigs! See below

remember I found six tiny yo-yo's in my feedsack fabrics scrap bag? Perfect for wee flowers in the grass! 
I actually clapped my hands when I stuck them in the new strip of grass!!!
Whee! it's coming together and making sense. 

I love the whole process of being given prompts for rows and the leeway to tweak them to suit me!


I think it's going to work in this orientation. 
We've reached the end of the prompt for rows, now I just need to fit the bits and pieces together, 
(sorry lattice strip, I think you'll go in the scrap bin for now)

into a unified whole top, and quilt it. 
another Whee! 
then add in some hand stitches, some geegaws to embellish, and it'll be done. 
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Thursday, February 27, 2025

I Like Thursday #440

my fabric cutting tablescape

time to remember the little things we liked about this week... for me the shamrock out of fabric I made for a challenge to use our birthstone color, mine is emerald and I like the emerald ring dh bought me. 

( I showed whole photos of the shamrock on Sat's post )

what's this? can you guess? 
answer, the sun peeped around a plant and hit the back hallway. I noticed during lunch one day



 still happy to be learning French   

En Francaise : Je suis reconnaissant  (I am grateful) although it's testing my memory and recall

ps if you're studying another language, youtube has videos of stories read in other languages to help you learn.

 

they looked great 

tried a new to me recipe for sour cream orange blueberry muffins

https://slate.com/culture/2013/04/blueberry-orange-muffin-recipe-the-best-one-around-with-plenty-of-muffin-top.html 

they have NO flavor of either orange (despite OJ plus zest) or blueberries so is it frozen blueberries? 

still good for breakfast with a bit of cream cheese!

DH got me four pairs of Alpaca wool socks to help my toes heal from reynauds complications. I love how loose they are, their warmth, and antimicrobial nature. 


STILL laughing... if Americans spoke like the French.... 


we watched a great movie last weekend

 inspirational

I was able to read some blog posts this week, and ran across this totally lovely way to make "note" of the good things in life by Melva. I might have to do it too. Ordinary blessings jar.

https://melvalovesscraps.blogspot.com/2025/02/blessings-of-ordinary-kind.html 

New Free workshop on creatiuvity and healing  (online)


I signed up for this but don't know much about it. Presentations on topics I feel are important, starts in March goes on a week I think

 Our Prompt: do you compliment your mate/partner and does he compliment you? What kind of compliment feels best to you, and to him?

 I admit, I don't compliment enough, and sadly hearing a compliment is rare. Because of this prompt I did ask what kind of things did Drew like to hear. I like to hear how smart or clever I am, I love to hear a compliment on my appearance, clothes, or art. I would like people to see my integrity or kindness in dealing with others. 
Isn't it odd how we will replay a complaint in our heads but not compliments?

We were approved to adopt a puppy mill rescue, so now we wait for the right dog and the right time for me physically to handle the housetraining, and well general training, I did see a wheaten on their site, 8 years old, so sweet. 

one day.

I am grieving Milo still, more than ever. I hug his shark toy every night before bed 

now please visit these fine folk to see what they liked this week


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Saturday, February 22, 2025

my creative week -- SAHRR, PQ and RSC (acronyms week)

 

Welcome to this week's creativity round-up! I have four projects to share this week so on with the show!

Starting with project quilting's prompt, "inspired by your birthstone color" For me it's 

"emerald"


I started with collecting inspiration photos online, and printing them onto one sheet of paper. 

see the images printed out there on the table?

if I had more than one week for this (and didn't start 4 days in! lol) I might have done the emerald city, or a palm frond. I cut out 3 paper hearts, taped them together, and cut the shape out of a precious hand painted piece of green fabric. 
I stitched that to a backing of emerald colored solid fabric, some peltex stabilizer. and quilted it with 
emerald rayon thread in free motion leaves

 
ironed on crystals in a copper leaf shape, and spiral, adding a word on a disc. See a bit how beautiful the painted fabric is? metallic shiny green on dark green. Subtle yet deep. 
I thought about hand stitching this green trim around it, after it was done.... not sure if I want to yet...

quilting lines

it's hanging over the fireplace now for St. Pat's day




While working on this, I also considered how to add a row of quarter square log cabin blocks for this week's stay-at-home-round-robin quilt...

again printing out inspiration photos to hang on the design wall

deciding to use the repro feedsack fabrics again but not liking this layout. 
this one is okayyyyyy but.....

I like the stages up to the slice blocks and this one. It's too busy for a small quilt right now. I'm considering remaking the log cabins in the same size strip, and limiting the number to simplify the lines. Later maybe.... I'm having trouble keeping up with two challenges a week plus the rainbow scrap challenge

I had pulled out blue triangles to sew up some wonky geese blocks, to warm un my creative time

then sewed tiny blue scraps together into this mug rug
the shape is also wonky.... I backed it in a blue scrap gifted to me long ago from a bee mate
and decided it's prettier on this side! The fabric is full of images all on top of each other, but this fussy cut one illustrated how cropping an image often looks better. See the bit of woman peeking in from the left side there? It's always a challenge free motion quilting on this older machine as the feed dogs don't properly drop. 
still, glad to have a machine at all at the moment
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Thursday, February 20, 2025

I Like Thursday # 439

 

time for an I Like list! Thanks for coming by, and on with the show... 

above is a little painting I did this week, like a paint doodle. No goal in mind. I love colors, all of them

we had more normal weather this week, really cold and lots of snow, none predicted. We still toss out veggie peels, for any critters. They don't hibernate here since temps can be 60F one day, then drop that afternoon below 0 . 
I saw my bunny and squirrel this week on our porch. So sweet, he tried to dig down into the old mums pots. Then later when I checked the front door was locked before I went to bed, I peeked out to see it snowing, and a raccoon was sitting by the street drain looking in. Oh no, I thought, it's so cold and snowy, and he has to find food.  Poor critters all around us. 

I tried a new recipe for cherry cupcakes.... very dry, and kind of tasteless but the icing tasted good, 

they don't look good but we ate them

reading 

next in the series....

listening to on audio

mysterious family drama with possibility of ghosts. Great reader.

love hand embroidery and finished this, more pics on last Sat. post


still Learning French on Transparent language online. I often feel like this

Oh la la!

want this


and this

prompt: do you give yourself the same compassion and understanding that you give to your family and friends?

I'd say no although the older I get the less I need to please people I don't know. Growing up I was picked apart for being slightly chubby when the other kids were all skinny. I felt like I was not good enough and often pointed out my faults before others could say them. 

My family was not nurturing, no compliments or "I love you" s  The mother was a bully too and her opinion was the only one so I was quiet at home too. I am trying to change the automatic self talk now, (finally!) and tell myself,  what I'd say to a friend, like   that's clever! You can't do it all! It's okay to do nothing! You are a good person creative and have integrity. I believe in respect and that differences are great, so I might as well say that to me, right? 

found this on short videos....

people judging you? finding fault? listen to this way to view it


 I LOVE new clothes, and sales on clothes, so I now have this roomy boucle cream colored sweater by Anne Klein at macy's on deep discount... I have one in pink and now this, and feel cozy and cute in it! it has sparkles in the wool too. 


I am working my way through the retirement system and although the online forms are horribly messy, I had to stop midway twice and call the state, once getting no real help but the second time getting someone who sent me the forms to use and gave advice. Both times I had to wait about 45 min on hold to get through but maybe now I believe I can finish and receive benefits! I have a little hope! 

please visit these folks to see what they liked this week.... and let me know if you wrote a post for me to include




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Saturday, February 15, 2025

my creative week including embroidery, sewing piecework, and a painting

 

still trying to live a creative life, and this is a mention of this week's work... glad you're here! 

the pic above is my latest finished embroidery. I learned to make tassel flowers, very wild and 3-d

more about the embroidery in a minute, but first my stay at home round robin nest row was slice into a block and insert a new fabric. It was a hard pain week so I took it easy on the creative front. I did a sliced insert in an X thinking it would look like a trellis... well.... 

it's too many lines too close for me but maybe this sewn row will fit in later?? 
I used one of my Mary Englebreit prints
I made some blocks to try them out using my blue floral scraps (Kim are you listening?) (she inspired me with her flower pics at https://sarahlizzies.blogspot.com/
I like it! Imagine it with lots more floral fabrics! 



I inserted a pretty iris scrap in the center, and tried out some borders 
and it's okay but what about this larger scrap? 
this one just needs a pretty pink floral border I think. (It's easier to work small right now)

back to my latest embroidery (a kit from Buscilla gifted to me from DH
I re-learned how to do a woven flower, filled lazy daisy stitch, 
I blended two shades to grade the ombre colored purple stem on the right
top-- light purple 3 strands, next two light one dark purple strand, next two dark purple and one lt purple strand, then 3 dark purple strands. 

tried to put my initials on bottom but it' a blur
I finally got out paints and a brush to make DH (Mon Mari) a V-day card... 
simple but says it all

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